Flood at Lowveld Botanical Garden worse than in 2000

The Lowveld National Botanical Garden experienced extensive damage and was forced to close.

The garden’s interpretation officer, Lou-Nita le Roux Joubert, who has spent just under 20 years in its service, and its former senior horticulturist, Willem

Froneman, who had worked there for 32 years, both said they had never in all their years seen the amount of damage and extremely high water levels at the garden that they saw in recent days.

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Le Roux Joubert said that although the vehicle bridge used to enter the garden had been built above the high-water level, with potential flooding in mind, the Crocodile River had flooded the surface of the bridge, washing debris and even a tree trunk onto the structure.

Froneman said that he had been working at the garden during the floods of 2000, and that the water level had reached half a metre under the vehicle bridge, but did not flood it.

“Even the viewpoint area in the garden was not flooded. The water just touched the barrier. This recent flood saw the water wash right into the area. The power of the water is unbelievable and I have never seen anything like this before.”

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The barrier was also damaged. The pedestrian bridge, however, seemed to be the hardest hit with a third of it breaking off and washing into the Crocodile River.

Le Roux Joubert told Lowvelder that an assessor from head office had travelled from Pretoria to assess the damage to the garden and structures.

The decision was taken by garden management on Sunday to close it to the public, however, the garden’s communication officer, Mandisa Ndlovu, said that it would be open again on Saturday February 18.